12.21

A Novel

By: Dustin Thomason

Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Noel Rodriguez, Dustin Thomason

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

From the co-author of the two-million copy mega-best seller The Rule of Four, comes a riveting thriller with a brilliant premise based on the 2012 apocalypse phenomenon - perfect for readers of Steve Berry, Preston and Child, and Dan Brown.

For decades, December 21, 2012, has been a touchstone for doomsayers worldwide. It is the date, they claim, when the ancient Maya calendar predicts the world will end.

In Los Angeles, two weeks before, all is calm. Dr. Gabriel Stanton takes his usual morning bike ride, drops off the dog with his ex-wife, and heads to the lab where he studies incurable prion diseases for the CDC. His first phone call is from a hospital resident who has an urgent case she thinks he needs to see. Meanwhile, Chel Manu, a Guatemalan American researcher at the Getty Museum, is interrupted by a desperate, unwelcome visitor from the black market antiquities trade who thrusts a duffel bag into her hands.

By the end of the day, Stanton, the foremost expert on some of the rarest infections in the world, is grappling with a patient whose every symptom confounds and terrifies him. And Chel, the brightest young star in the field of Maya studies, has possession of an illegal artifact that has miraculously survived the centuries intact: a priceless codex from a lost city of her ancestors. This extraordinary record, written in secret by a royal scribe, seems to hold the answer to her life's work and to one of history's great riddles: why the Maya kingdoms vanished overnight. Suddenly it seems that our own civilization might suffer this same fate.

With only days remaining until December 21, 2012, Stanton and Chel must join forces before time runs out.

©2012 Dustin Thomason (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Thomason displays an impressive depth of knowledge of both science and the ancient Mayan way of life. Along the way, he skillfully ramps up the action, one notch at a time. A winning book." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"The most exciting novel of its kind since the days of Michael Crichton, 12.21 takes us from the frontiers of modern neuroscience to the riddles of ancient Maya texts, with nothing less than the future of our civilization at stake." (Vince Flynn)

cannibalism and mad cow epidemic...be forewarned

Well written, depressing as hell, quite gruesome, informative in a depressing way, if this sounds like escapism to you, bon voyage!...however, terrific narrator...

Great book!

Would you consider the audio edition of 12.21 to be better than the print version?

Never read the print but the narrator was excellent!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked them all

Which scene was your favorite?

When the lock & key metaphor is explained

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

NOne

Any additional comments?

I thought this was going 2 b another haunted house book I couldn't have been more wrong! Great characters, great story great ending! This book had lots of surprises! Well worth the credit!

Enjoyed the book

Where does 12.21 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

12.21 may not be the best book I've ever read, but the plot line was engaging and it held my attention through to the end. An enjoyable read.

Would it matter?

I don't know that I would spend a credit on this book again. It was just OKAY. It was unbelievable and I didn't feel I really cared if the world ended or not from a book point of view. I did finish the book and at the end just said "Ugh-okay." It wasn't a book that I really WANTED to listen to and I prefer those that take me into the story. This one not so taken in as I was curious where they were going. Where they went was not very well thought out.

Three stars, but enjoyable

The premise was clever -- making both the scientific and the religious explanation for an apocalypse seem 'plausible.' (If events happen to come together too smoothly....is it a preposterous coincidence, or fate?) The writing was pretty solid. The narration, for the most part, was good (except for Noel Rodriguez -- I assume he is the reader for the "scribe" and sounds like a caricature of a drunk who is exaggerating his Spanish accent...those parts were excruciating and I found myself listening at double-speed through some sections). I was totally entertained -- and yet, the character development was a little weak and some fail to come alive as people. They are simply figures in the plot. Still, like I said, I did enjoy it.

enjoyable

Any additional comments?

Great spin on 12.21.2012 other wise known as the end of the world =) It is an enjoyable read and will kept you interested. I liked the store and the character.

A bit disappointed

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The jumping back and forth between past and present wasnt very smooth...Lost interest

Has 12.21 turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.....this was just disappointing..maybe my expectations were too high

Could you see 12.21 being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No doubt it will and I doubt very seriously it will follow the book very closely

An Entertaining Enough Story

The narration definitely was good, although the plot and characters were pretty straight forward. It was an enjoyable listen.

S-L-O-W start, but it did pick up!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The beginning was very very slow. All the science stuff makes for a dull start!

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Not surprised, since we all know the basic premise.

Was 12.21 worth the listening time?

Yea

Meh - A Solid Concept, but not well Executed

Given my title, let me first say that this was not an awful book by any means. It had some solid elements to it including the premise and descriptions and insights into ancient Mayan culture. The first couple of chapters were strong and laid a nice foundation that gave me high hopes. But the characters ended up flat and uninspired, and the story didn't really feel compelling in the way the early Michael Crichton or James Patterson novels might. The peril and pacing you would expect in an end of the world book seemed to be missing and it tended to focus on deciphering and interpreting a codex instead of pushing the story in other ways. Ultimately I felt a bit let down by these decisions and this book ends up as a middling effort; not terrible, but certainly not as good as it could have been.